卡米拉．帕克．鲍尔斯:安德鲁 帕克 鲍尔斯

　　最近发生的一段旷世姻缘，再次让世人领略了“问世间情为何物，直教人生死相许”的爱情箴言。这段恋情被称为旷世姻缘，不仅因为它的确是好事多磨，还在于它拥有的皇家背景。没错，这段姻缘就是查尔斯和卡米拉那轰动世界的爱恋历程。而卡米拉在赢得其最终归宿的同时，也渐渐向世人揭开了她的神秘面纱……
　　
　　She will never be Queen of England, or England"s Queen of Hearts, but Camilla Parker Bowles has at least gone one better than her best-known ancestor. Mrs. Parker Bowles is a direct descendant of Alice Keppel, a society matron who was the last official mistress of King Edward VII, the Prince of Wales"s great-great-grandfather.
　　Mrs. Keppel died in September 1947 at the age of 78, without ever meeting her great-granddaughter Camilla Shand, who was born in London two months earlier to the Honourable Rosalind Cubitt (whose forebear Thomas Cubitt built much of London"s West End) and Major Bruce Shand, who was deputy lord lieutenant of East Sussex, the Queen"s official representative in the county, as well as a wine merchant.
　　Camilla grew up in rural Sussex and was educated at Queen"s Gate School in South Kensington, before attending finishing school in Switzerland and France. She is a socialite by birth and by nature. Born into the English elite circle, like other girls of her station, she was groomed for a place in society; as the wife of a wealthy aristocrat. Her reputation since childhood paints the picture of an outgoing, charismatic individual noted for her wit and a good sense of humour. Her charisma, ①by all accounts, did not get lost on men who, as her friends and acquaintances say, have always liked Camilla. Still, if it weren"t for the affection of one man in particular, the Prince of Wales and heir to the British throne, this reputation would have most likely stayed ②within the limits of Camilla"s exclusive social circle. As it stands, Camilla is internationally known, living the life of a celebrity surrounded by intrusive public interest that makes her the subject of abuse and admiration all at the same time. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
　　Camilla was athletic; she enjoyed the outdoors and traditional sports like hunting and fishing. As a friend of hers recalls: "She wasn"t particularly clothes-conscious; nothing"s changed there. But she always exuded a sexy confidence over men. She was quite a flirt, she liked men." When Camilla graduated from the fashionable Queen"s Gate School for girls in London, she was ready for her debut in society. In 1965 after spending six months in Europe, she moved to London. She worked part-time as a secretary, devoting the rest of her time to a full social diary of country-house weekends and events like hunt balls.
　　Reportedly, one of Camilla"s favourite ancestors was Alice Keppel. According to Camilla"s biographer, Caroline Graham, she was fascinated with Alice while growing up. In 1970, she became an instant success with Prince Charles. The pair met at a polo match where Camilla apparently said to the prince, "You know that my great-grandmother was your great-great-grandfather"s mistress, so how about it?" This was the beginning of a romance that has spanned decades. Charles and Camilla soon became inseparable and for a while they were a happy young couple seen in London"s hottest spots together. However, the relationship failed to develop into a marriage. Camilla"s reputation as a regular on the London party scene made her an unacceptable candidate for the wife to the future king of England. Charles disappeared into the Navy and, in July 1973, Camilla married Andrew Parker Bowles, an attractive, well-connected colonel in the Household Cavalry.
　　Andrew Parker Bowles made no great effort to disguise the fact that he was continuously unfaithful to her from the start. In the meantime, her friendship with Charles continued. The young prince was much taken by Camilla"s unaffected exuberance, which contrasted with his own anxious diffidence. The two also shared a similar sense of humour and a love of horses.
　　Their relationship was alive and well when Charles began to court Diana Spencer. It is now commonly believed that the "fairytale wedding" of Charles and Diana in 1981 was nothing more than a marriage of convenience designed to keep the royal family happy. Charles true love was, and still is, Camilla. In fact, a mere ten days before the wedding, Diana asked to see Camilla so that she could confront her. She returned from that meeting satisfied that everything was "understood". Nonetheless, it was not long before Diana realized that Camilla would not simply go away. On their honeymoon, the subject came up again, when she noticed that her husband was wearing cuff-links that had been given to him by Camilla.
　　By the mid 1980"s Charles and Camilla"s affair was common knowledge. Camilla kept tight-lipped about her relationship with the prince throughout all the ups and downs. That was no easy task. Diana"s popularity in England was universal and Camilla was regularly demonized as a "homebreaker" and a "Rottweiler" by the British press and the public blamed her for the destruction of Charles" and Diana"s marriage. In 1995, her marriage to Parker Bowles ended and the following year Charles and Diana divorced. It seemed that the time was coming when Charles would accompany her in public. However, when Diana was killed in a car accident in 1997, Camilla withdrew from public life to avoid the fury that was being directed at her.
　　In July 1998, Prince William agreed to meet his father"s partner for the first time, and the news was leaked to the press. Tabloids beamed with speculation about the encounter, reporting that after half an hour of tea and small talk Camilla said, "I really need a gin and tonic". About six months later, Charles and Camilla made their first public appearance together outside the London Ritz Hotel, where they attended Camilla"s sister"s birthday party. Since then, their relationship has become more and more open. On April 9th, 2005 they were formally married. Mrs. Parker Bowles has become Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, effectively the second most senior royal female after the Queen even though she will remain Princess Consort when the Prince succeeds his mother.
　　The public have also become much warmer to her. Her long dedication and loyalty to the same man has earned her the respect of the people. No longer is she viewed as the "other woman" but as the victim, and survivor, of extremely difficult circumstances.
　　
　　卡米拉・帕克・鲍尔斯永远不会成为英国王后，也不会成为英国人民心中的女王，但她至少在一方面要优于其最负盛名的先辈。帕克・鲍尔斯夫人是爱莉斯・凯柏尔的直系后裔，而后者是上流社会的贵妇，是威尔士王子高曾祖父――爱德华七世最后一位公开的情妇。
　　1947年9月，时年78岁的凯柏尔夫人过世了，连她的曾孙女卡米拉・尚德都没能见上一面；卡米拉两个月之前在伦敦降生，父母是尊敬的罗莎琳德・邱必特（伦敦西区的大部分地区都是其祖先托马斯・邱必特所建）和布鲁斯・尚德少校――东苏塞克斯郡的副治安长官、女王在该郡的官方代表以及一名葡萄酒商。
　　卡米拉在苏塞克斯郡的乡村长大，在南金斯敦的"女王之门学校"接受教育，而后在瑞士和法国的“女子精修学校”进修。她与生俱来就是一个社交名流。出生在英国精英阶层的她，与那些和她身份相同的其他女孩一样，被加以栽培，以便在上流社会中占有一席之地――成为富有贵族的妻子。她是一个以其机智和极富幽默感而著称、既喜好交往又魅力超凡的人，而这一声誉自其孩童时代起就建立了起来。据众人所言，她的魅力对男人同样奏效，她的朋友和熟人说,男人总是喜欢卡米拉。不过，如果不是因为与威尔士王子、英国王位继承人这样一个特殊男人的爱情，这种声誉极有可能只停留在卡米拉所独有的社交圈子里。而事实则是，卡米拉国际知名，过着一种为公众关注所侵扰的名流生活――同一时间里，她既被当作漫骂的对象又被当作欣羡的对象。
　　卡米拉善于运动：她喜欢户外生活以及狩猎和钓鱼之类的传统运动。正如她的一个朋友回忆说：“她不是很在意着装；这点一成未变。但是她总是对男人流露出迷人的自信。她是一个调情高手，她喜欢男人。”当卡米拉从高贵的、为女子设立的伦敦"女王之门学校"毕业之后，她就为其在上流社会的初次亮相做好了准备。在欧洲度过了六个月后，她于1965年搬到了伦敦。她从事着一份秘书的兼职工作，其余时间全被用于日程排得满满当当的社交活动――在乡村别墅里度周末以及参加狩猎舞会之类的活动。
　　据说，卡米拉最喜爱的先辈之一是爱莉斯・凯柏尔。据为卡米拉作传的卡罗林・格拉哈姆讲，她在成长的阶段，曾为爱莉斯而着迷。1970年，她被查尔斯王子一眼相中。这两个人在一场马球赛上相识，当时卡米拉公然对王子说，“你知道，我的曾祖母是你高曾祖父的情妇，你怎么看这件事？”一段历时数十载的浪漫史由此开始。查尔斯和卡米拉很快便形影不离，一段时间内，他们这对快乐的年轻人双双现身于伦敦最热门的场所。然而，这段关系未能发展成一段姻缘。卡米拉经常出入伦敦聚会场所的声誉，使她不可能被接纳成为英国未来国王的妻室人选。查尔斯在参加海军后不见了身影，而卡米拉则在1973年7月嫁给了安德鲁・帕克・鲍尔斯，一位英俊迷人、八面玲珑的皇家骑兵上校。
　　安德鲁・帕克・鲍尔斯从一开始就对她不忠，对此他没有大加隐瞒。而与此同时，她与查尔斯的友谊也在继续。这位年轻的王子深深着迷于卡米拉那洒脱自然的活力，而这一点则与他自己那忐忑不安的胆怯形成了对比。两人还拥有着相似的幽默感，并且都喜欢马。
　　当查尔斯开始追求黛安娜・斯潘塞求婚时，他们的关系稳定而又良好。现在普遍认为，查尔斯与黛安娜在1981年举行的“童话婚礼”只不过是一场旨在让皇室满意的功利性婚姻。查尔斯的真爱一直以来都是卡米拉。其实就在婚礼十天前，黛安娜要求与卡米拉会面，以便可以直面于她。从那次会面返回后，她满以为一切都已“讲明”。然而，黛安娜不久之后便意识到，卡米拉不会轻易地退出。在他们的蜜月期间，当她注意到她的丈夫戴着卡米拉送给他的袖扣时，这个问题又冒了出来。
　　到了20世纪80年代中期，查尔斯和卡米拉的风流韵事已是众所周知。在所有大风大浪之中，卡米拉对她与王子的关系始终守口如瓶。这并不是一件容易的事情。黛安娜在英国受到举国上下的欢迎，而卡米拉则常被英国媒体加以妖魔化，当作是“婚姻破坏者”和“罗特韦尔犬”，而且公众还谴责她破坏了查尔斯与黛安娜的婚姻。1995年，她与帕克・鲍尔斯的婚姻走向终结，第二年，查尔斯与黛安娜也离了婚。似乎查尔斯与她相伴公开露面的日子就要来临了。然而，在黛安娜于1997年丧身车祸后，卡米拉为了躲避指向她的激愤而从公众生活中抽身而去。
　　1998年7月，威廉王子首次同意与他父亲的伴侣见面，这个消息被媒体获悉了。小报上充斥着对这次见面的推测，声称在进行了半小时的喝茶闲聊之后，卡米拉说：“我确实需要来杯‘金汤力’”。大约六个月后，查尔斯和卡米拉在伦敦里兹饭店外首次一起公开亮相，而他们是在那里参加卡米拉姐姐的生日派对。从那以后，他们的关系越来越公开。2005年4月9日，他们正式结婚。尽管当（查尔斯）王子继承了其母的王位后，帕克・鲍尔斯夫人仍将作为伴妃，但她成为了卡米拉――康沃尔公爵夫人，实质上就是继女王之后的第二位权高位重的皇家女性。
　　而公众对她也已变得温和多了。她对于同一个男人的奉献和忠诚赢得了人们对她的尊敬。她不再被视为“第三者”，而是一位历经大苦大悲的受害者和幸存者。
　　
　　descendant /di`send(9)nt/ n.后裔；后代
　　major /`mei_9/ n.少校
　　lord lieutenant /l5d le`ten9nt/ n.郡治安长官
　　finishing school 女子精修学校；(青年妇女)家事学校
　　socialite /`s9uH9lait/ n.社会名流；名士
　　groom /Gr6m/vt.培训；培植
　　society /s9`sai9ti/ n.上流社会；社会
　　aristocrat /`2ist9kr2t/ n.贵族
　　outgoing /`autG9uiM/ adj.对人友好的；好交往的
　　charismatic /,k2riz`m2tik/ adj.超凡魅力的
　　heir /^/ n.继承人
　　intrusive /in`tr6siv/ adj.打扰的；插入的
　　exude /iG`z(d/ v.(使)渗出；发散开来
　　fashionable /`f2H9n9bl/ adj.上流社会的；受时髦人士欢迎的
　　well-connected /wel k9`nektid/ adj.有广泛社会关系的
　　colonel /`k/n(9)l/ n.上校
　　exuberance /iG`z(b9r9ns/ n.茂盛；丰富
　　diffidence /`difid9ns/ n.缺乏自信；胆怯